AP file photoFour Hudson County residents are among nine people charged with cloning Spring phones in a scheme that officials say racked up some $15 million in bills.

Four Hudson County residents are among nine former Sprint workers accused of using confidential customer information to create phone "clones" that racked up some $15 million in calls, officials said.

Luis Orriols, 22, of Jersey City; Francis Lopez, 25, of Weehawken, and West New York residents Luis Abad, 24, and Mathews Angel, 23, were charged Wednesday with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and access device fraud, according to the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. All four worked at a North Bergen store.

Officials said the defendants accessed Sprint's computer network more than 16,000 times without authorization. A few days after a defendant obtained the information from a particular customer's account, the customer would begin being billed for unauthorized calls often made to overseas locations, officials said.

Federal officials said the cell phone company has credited its customers for the value of the calls.

The defendants face up to 20 years in prison if convicted, officials said, adding that the case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service.

"The U.S. Secret Service will continue to aggressively pursue those that commit fraud and identity theft for their own enrichment," Brian Parr, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Secret Service, said. "These crimes remain a top investigative priority for out agency."